Science Update

We are on a quest to learn about all the systems of the human body. So far we have discussed the skeletal, muscular, digestive, and circulatory systems.

The Digestive System

The digestive process begins in our mouths with the aid of our teeth, tongue, and saliva. Ask your scientist about the Ritz cracker experiement and the starlight mint experiement. We learned how long food remains in the stomach and how the small intestine is the workhorse of the digestive tract. Students were shocked to see that the small intestine is 21 feet long while the large intestine is 9 feet long. Mrs. Purlsley added to our study during Wellness class by continuing to talk about the many excretions made in our bodies to aid with the digestive process.

The Circulatory System

The heart, blood vessels, and blood make up our circulatory system. We learned (and laughed) at Bill Nye's video about the circulatory system. Ask your student why we squeezed a tennis ball 70 times in a minute? We are learning about how the heart pumps the blood, what is carried in the blood, and how the blood vessels are a massive transportation system.  To better understand the complexities of the heart, we will be thinking about it as "the heart house." Please see the Children's Heart Institute website for more information about this.



http://childrensheartinstitute.org/educate/heartwrk/hearthse.htm



Word Sort Words -- Week of Jan. 30

This week we will focus on the following sounds: long-e on the first syllable, short-e on the first syllable, and long-e on the second syllable. Here are the sorts:

1st long
needle
season
reader
feature
freedom
meaning
eastern
people

1st short
feather
leather
heavy
pleasant
sweater
steady
healthy

2nd long
succeed
increase
compete
defeat
indeed
extreme
fifteen
thirteen
repeat

Sam's Birthday Book

Big Map

Back in December our class had the opportunity to visit and explore the big map of Africa. Middle School Social Studies teacher, Grady Smith, arranged for the National Geographic Society map to make a stop at Trinity. Ask your student about this great experience!

Discovery Place

We will  head to Discovery Place on Thursday, February 2, to explore the Exhibit Halls and attend a class called "Move It or Lose It." The class will focus on the structure and functions of the skeletal and muscular systems using a variety of guided-inquiry activities and the examination of real human specimens. We will depart at 8:40 and return to campus in time for lunch.

Please Renew Library Books

We will not be heading to Imaginon this coming week, so please take time to log on to the PLCMC website and renew your 4th grader's library books online. Most students need to hold on to our biographies until after our book projects are complete.

Guest Speaker

The students had an amazing opportunity today to learn from a pro about the world of sports' medicine. Bill Heisel, also known as Annie's dad, came to share with our class about his job as an orthopedic physician's assistant. He prepared a PowerPoint presentation that included many x-rays and arthroscopic pictures of knee, shoulder, leg, and arm injuries. The students were in awe of the metal screws, plates, and other tools used to help repair broken bones. We also learned how torn ACLs are repaired. The world of sports is pretty rough on the skeletal and muscular systems! Ask your child to share some of the things he or she learned today. Thank you for sharing your time and knowledge with us, Mr. Heisel!